


If You've Already Touched The Moon, Think About The Fall Back To Earth

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Drama, F/M, Post Bartlett Administration, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-19
Updated: 2007-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-15 13:46:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14791643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: What happens after then end of the Bartlet Administration? Follow CJ, Danny, and the rest of the characters on their life journey. Mainly CJ/Danny, but other characters and pairings join in.





	If You've Already Touched The Moon, Think About The Fall Back To Earth

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: Okay, so, to make a long story short, this is my first West Wing fanfiction. I'm a West Wing fanatic, and the TV show consumes my soul. I started writing it when the 7th season ended a little over a year ago, but never posted it. After the end of the series, my imagination started having muse attacks. I had to know what happened (especially to CJ and Danny) after the series ended. And so, Welcome to the Rest of your Life, was born. I warn you, this is my first attempt at a whole Fanfiction story, so it'll be a little weird. I could also use some feedback, so that I can improve my story and writing techniques.

This story will follow mostly CJ and Danny on their life journey. But don't worry, everyone else'll join in too. You'll see Josh, Donna, Kate, Will, the Bartlets, Toby and everyone else in their Post-Administration lives as well. This story is one that starts right after the series finish, and goes until I feel it's over.

The characters are not mine, I'm just having some amateur fun. So sue me. (Don't actually sue me, please.) Aaron Sorkin is god.

Thanks, and enjoy!

kate (aka uberhyper and inlovewithwestwing)  


* * *

“Yesterday’s history and tomorrow’s a mystery,   
but today is a gift, that’s why we call this the present.”  


* * *

  
**If You’ve Already Touched The Moon, Think About The Fall Back To Earth**  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
 **Flash to the Future**  
 _Three Years Later_  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
CJ stepped off the plane and into the terminal. She was in the Washington Dulles Airport, on her way to the Bartlet Presidential Library dedication. A sense of homecoming washed over her, but it wasn’t really a homecoming. It was more of a reunion between the old CJ Cregg and the new one. She liked the new one better, but the old one definitely held some fond memories. She smiled at the thoughts of her years in the West Wing. They’d been great, but they were nothing compared to the last three years of her life. Her life after the White House, her life with Danny. As if on cue, Danny stepped out of the terminal behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He kissed her cheek.  
“Hey.” He said tenderly, sensing her mood and rubbing his hand on her back to soothe her.  
“Hi,” she replied, turning into him, putting her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder. She was sad, but it was a happy sad. Happy because she was with Danny, of course, and sad because she missed her life here in D.C.  
“How are you feeling?” His free hand found hers and their fingers intertwined.  
“Okay. Tired, and my legs are cramping… those darn plane seats.” He chuckled.  
“Guess being tall isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, is it?” He tried to make her happy.  
“Not at all.” She smiled lightly. It was working. She looked around her. “It’s been such a long time since I was here last.” Her face was melancholy again. Danny pulled her into him and kissed her forehead. No matter how sad she was, being in Danny’s arms made her feel better. After a few minutes Danny broke the silence.  
“We should get our bags.” He pulled her along with him as he turned and headed for the baggage claim. Her arm wrapped around his waist, so that they were hugging and walking at the same time.  
After retrieving the two suitcases that they’d checked, CJ and Danny rented a car and drove to a hotel in the heart of D.C. After reaching their room, CJ called Hogan to check on the baby, and they collapsed into bed together. This was the rest of their life.  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
 **Back to the Present**  
 _January 21st, 2008_  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
CJ had never been cliff jumping. She didn’t want to either. That stomach-in-your-throat-I’m-going-to-throw-up sort of feeling just wasn’t for her. Danny said that he’d tried it once, just to see what it was like. He said it was pretty scary, but once you’d safely hit the ground, it was worth it. He’d gone with a past girlfriend (he grinned as he mentioned it), and they’d held hands on the way down. He told CJ that it helped a lot to have someone with you. Especially if you love them. The conversation had taken place during one of their late-night talks when they weren’t “not talking.” She then understood the analogy. President Bartlet used the same one when he asked her to be Chief of Staff. And boy, that was definitely a cliff she’d been jumping off. Except, then, the bottom had been visible, even though the fall had taken 2 years. Now, CJ felt like she was jumping into a bottomless pit. She couldn’t see how it ended; she couldn’t know what was on the bottom. But, for once in her life, she wasn’t worried about the outcome. Danny would be there with her. And that’s all that mattered.  
Bartlet’s second term had ended the previous day. Santos’s inauguration speech had been nice. But CJ hadn’t really enjoyed it. It was sort of a black day for her. The day marked the end of an era. The end of Bartlet’s stint in the White House. And the end of everything CJ’d known for the past 8 years. It was sort of scary for her. Jumping into bottomless pits had never been on her list of things to do during her lifetime. But, as has been said many times, when one door closes, another one opens. And CJ had a golden door right in front of her. A door called Danny Concannon. Thoughts of Danny waiting for her in California helped to lift her mood a little.  
“Would you like a pillow, ma’am?” CJ’s thoughts were interrupted by a flight attendant who was walking up the aisle. CJ’d been trying to sleep, but of course, sleep was impossible. Not only because she was on a plane, but because her mind was keeping her awake. She just couldn’t stop thinking.  
“Umm… no thanks. I’m good.” She did her best to smile at the young woman.  
“Okay, just let me know.” The flight attendant turned and walked away, leaving CJ to her thoughts. She’d done so much. More than most ever had a chance to do in a lifetime. When she’d joined the campaign, she really hadn’t thought that she’d end up here, on this plane to LAX, with an amazing guy waiting for her, just having handed in her badge at the White House after 8 years of working there. That one day, one single day, had changed her entire life. It’d changed her hopes and dreams, and wants and needs, sleeping patterns and relationships. One day. That’s all it’d taken. One day, a visit from Toby, and a fall into a pool. It’d brought her friends, memories, accomplishments, and perhaps most of all, Danny. She sighed as she remembered their first year in office, when Danny had relentlessly asked her out. She remembered their first kiss, and their second, third, fourth, and fifth. But then it had to end because of the conflict of interest. Those were the good years of the Bartlet Administration. Back before Sam left, and back before Josh left, and back before Toby and Leo and the reelection. The Mendoza confirmation, the MS Scandal, how close they came to curing cancer. But now, sitting on a plane, heading towards her future, CJ realized that she didn’t miss it. Looking back on those years was both painful and exciting. She’d accomplished more in eight years than most people do in their lifetime. And it was over. Closing the door on her time in the White House would be one of the hardest things she’d have to do. But, then again, this ending was also a beginning. The beginning of her life with Danny. And she couldn’t wait.


End file.
